Vacationers look out their car window to the left to see a giant gorilla on the top of a building, and to their right to see an upside-down building. Travelers are not in the middle of a strange dream; they are just in the great city of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
On October 10, my mom, aunt, and I drove a fair eight hours to the lovely tourist trap of Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It was a long, bumpy ride, and the line of traffic was like no other. What should have been a seven-and-a-half-hour drive turned into an eight-hour journey. Traveling through Tennessee is not for those with weak stomachs, as the mountains will make your stomach slosh around. Vacationers might also think they are on an airplane, the way their ears pop while driving up the mountains. With all of this being said, there are still good reasons millions of people visit Tennessee for fall break every year.
We checked into our hotel in Gatlinburg around 9 pm, and we did not have a great deal of time to do much. But, as we stepped outside onto our balcony, we spotted something below us moving on top of the rocks in the creek… a bear! That had to be good luck to spot a black bear on our first day of break.
On the second day of our trip, we went up into the mountains on a chairlift up 600 feet in the air to Anakeesta, a theme park in Gatlinburg. This theme park did not have rollercoasters or waterslides, but instead had mountain coasters, ziplines, and treetop bridges to walk across. I ran into fellow senior, Kylie Logan, at Anakeesta, and she persuaded me to ride the mountain coasters. According to the Anakeesta website, the RailRunner Mountain Coaster has a track length of 1,600 feet, which overlooks the Smoky Mountains. The other mountain coaster we rode, The Hellbender, was my favorite. Both reached up to 25 miles per hour, but the Hellbender’s track extends to 3,350 feet long, making the bumpy ride worth it.
On the third day, we drove around Gatlinburg, admiring the views that we definitely do not have back home in Indiana. When driving, we saw a line of cars stopped. We got out of the truck to find a mama bear and her cubs at the bottom of the hill; how cute! Later that night, for dinner, we met up with Kylie again to watch the comical Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud in Pigeon Forge.
At the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud, patrons can eat as many biscuits, soup, fried chicken, pork, corn, coleslaw, and mashed potatoes as their stomachs can handle. I only lasted one round of each and two rounds of the delicious creamy vegetable soup; that was my favorite. During the show, Hatfield, an old, redneck man, and McCoy, an old, crabby woman, and their families battle out the lifelong feud of their families. In the end, it turns out the root cause was all a misunderstanding, and Hatfield and McCoy end up getting married. It was an entertaining show with unlimited food, so I highly recommend it.
On the fourth day, I woke up bright and early to do some hill repeats in an empty parking lot. After finishing my workout, my mom and I walked back down the hill. To our surprise, we spotted a giant black bear roaming around about 15 feet away. My mom HAD to get some pictures, so as the bear walked away a couple of feet, she slowly crept up to take a couple of pictures, while I stayed FAR away! After our thrilling morning, we went hiking up a few trails. I enjoy hiking, but my legs sure hurt after my morning workout. To end the night, we played Hillbilly Mini Golf up in the mountains; I, of course, won.
On the fifth and final day, we ventured up to Legacy Mountain Ziplines in Sevierville to start our day. There were seven lines, each a little longer than the previous line. As stated by the Legacy Mountain Ziplines Website, the highest line is a whopping 500 feet up in the air and a mighty 3,400 feet across. If thrill seekers are not scared of heights and ever visit Tennessee, I would highly consider doing a zipline across the mountains; the views are like no other. However, on the last line, I did get stuck, and the guide had to come rescue me; other than that, everything went smoothly. After ziplining, we did a little shopping-a MUST while you are in Tennessee. Finally, we rounded off our trip with another game of Hillbilly Mini Golf, where I, of course, won again. Obviously, we could not head home until we made a pit stop at the legendary Buc-ee’s Convenience Store, where we picked up fudge, glazed almonds, and their famous beaver nuggets. With our hearts and bellies full, we were on the road back home to Indiana.
Hey Kylie, how was your fall break trip?
My trip was quite splendid! This past week, I also traveled to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, with my mom, dad, aunt, and grandpa. On the way down, we were filled with joy thinking about all the fun activities we were going to experience and the delicious food we were going to eat. We stayed at the Margaritaville RV Resort and Lodge in Pigeon Forge. Upon arrival at the resort, we took our belongings up to the room, then went down to explore everything it had to offer. The resort had pickleball courts, a lazy river, a heated swimming pool with a slide, an arcade, duckpin bowling, and many more activities to fulfill.
The first official day of our trip was Saturday because we did not arrive at the resort until after 9 pm. On the first day, we scavenged for a place to park because the traffic and parking in Gatlinburg were a mess. Once we found a vacant parking spot, we went to eat breakfast at Over Easy Al’s. It is a brand new restaurant that just recently opened on October first.
After breakfast, we decided to walk it off and walk to Anakeesta. Even though it was still early in the morning, the line to get into Anakeesta was atrocious. It took us about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, just to get up to Anakeesta. But the wait was well worth it. It was like a little tree-top village up there. While in Anakeesta, I ran into the Aftin Griffin. Together, we rode both the mountain coasters, walked the rope courses, and the Treetop Skywalk. My personal favorite part of Anakeesta was the Treetop Skywalk. I enjoyed it the most because the bridges were bouncy and high up. After a couple of hours, we trekked back down the mountain and went to dinner at Five Oaks Farm Kitchen in Pigeon Forge.
On the second day, my dad decided to go on a 16-mile hike, so while we waited for him, we went to the Tanger Outlets to do some damage shopping. When my dad finished hiking, he met us at the Titanic Museum. At the museum, before you walk in, a person handed visitors a card identifying who they were on the Titanic. The cards explain the origin story of the person and what class they were in on board the ship. The lady I was impersonating was Jennie Hanson, who was a third-class passenger. In the museum, there are artifacts from the movie, along with the world’s largest Titanic Lego set ever built. By the end of the tour, there was a list of everyone on the Titanic, which shows whether your person lived or died. Then, if they survived in another room, it followed up with what your person did after the ship. I highly recommend visiting the museum if you ever get the chance to visit Pigeon Forge. As reported on the Titanic Museum’s official website, the tickets to the museum are $39.99.
Overall, the trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, was a blast. The Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge area has so much to experience for all ages. If you have never visited, I highly recommend going! There will always be something for everyone to do.
